Prevalence and Severity of Skunk Cranial Worm (Skrjabingylus Chitwoodorum) Damage Increase With Precipitation in Spotted Skunks (Spilogale Spp.)

Higdon, Summer D.; Gompper, Matthew E.

doi:10.7589/2019-07-182

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The authors concluded that S. chitwoodorum had a bias for the left sinus and also that ecoregion and precipitation was not a determining factor of prevalence. However, Higdon and Gompper (2020) concluded after examining 578 skulls of Spilogale putorius that the prevalence and intensity of S. chitwoodorum was correlated with precipitation, and they concluded that higher levels of precipitation most likely caused an increase in mollusks that act as intermediate hosts. Underlying genetic differences that allow the parasite to be successful across a variety of habitats could be present, but this has not been examined.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation within a species of parasitic nematode, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in skunks

Denham

Hughes

Dowler

et al. 2021

Journal of Nematology

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Carnivores in the families Mustelidae and Mephitidae are essential hosts for the cranial roundworm genus Skrjabingylus. A high prevalence of Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum has been observed in the striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis. Genetic barcoding studies of other nematodes have successfully used the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene to analyze genetic variation and divergence. We tested the hypothesis that low population structuring occurs within S. chitwoodorum because M. mephitis is widespread across much of North America and has high levels of gene flow. We extracted DNA from 38 samples of Skrjabingylus removed from the sinuses of M. mephitis and one from the plains spotted skunk, Spilogale putorius interrupta, for amplification and sequencing of COI. Analysis of 492 base pairs confirmed all samples were S. chitwoodorum and showed low genetic divergence (1.0%) within Texas, but high haplotype diversity. Supporting our hypothesis, no obvious divergent lineages based on geographic location were recovered within the samples based on Maximum Likelihood analysis and median joining haplotype network analysis. In fact, samples of Skrjabingylus from New York and South Dakota showed little difference compared with samples from Texas.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation within a species of parasitic nematode, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in skunks

Denham

Hughes

Dowler

et al. 2021

Journal of Nematology

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“…Furthermore, this signifies the importance of these kill sites and carrion as food resources that are worth the risks associated with being near or directly encountering larger predators (Allen et al, 2016; Briffa & Sneddon, 2007; Ruprecht et al, 2021). Finally, we identified possible direct and indirect pathways for transmission of nematode parasites such as Skrjabingylus spp., which require spotted skunks as definitive hosts to complete their life cycle (Higdon & Gompper, 2020; Kirkland Jr. & Kirkland, 1983; LaRose et al, 2021; Lesmeister, Millspaugh, et al, 2008). Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit a high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit a high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp. infection (Higdon & Gompper, 2020). Direct transmission of this nematode may occur through consumption of gastropods, which are the obligate intermediate host (Kirkland Jr. & Kirkland, 1983; Lankester & Anderson, 1971), and indirect transmission may occur through consumption of gastropod‐consuming vertebrates that serve as paratenic hosts such as chipmunks ( N. townsendii ), shrew moles ( N. gibbsii ), shrews ( S. trowbridgii ), voles ( Myodes spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

et al. 2023

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There are increasing concerns about the declining population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. Their conservation and management are often challenging due to limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017–2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates, such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods; vertebrates, such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds; and plants, such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items, such as black‐tailed deer, that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June–August), particularly wasps (75% of scats in the dry season), and marginally more mammals during the wet season (September–May). We observed a similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging at most spatial scales, but scats collected in areas with older forest within a skunk's home range (1‐km buffer) were more likely to contain insects. Western spotted skunks provide food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems and serve functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Due to their diverse diet and prey switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps, during dry springs and summers. By studying the natural history of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest forests, while they are still abundant, we provide key information necessary to achieve the conservation goal of keeping this common species common.

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“…Finally, we identified possible pathways for transmission of nematode parasites such as Skrjabingylus spp. which require spotted skunks as definitive hosts to complete their life cycle (Kirkland Jr. and Kirkland 1983; Higdon and Gompper 2020; LaRose, Lesmeister, and Gompper 2021; Lesmeister et al 2008). Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Western spotted skunks have been shown to exhibit high prevalence and high severity of Skrjabingylus spp. infection (Higdon and Gompper 2020). Direct transmission of this nematode may occur through consumption of gastropods, which are the obligate intermediate host (Lankester and Anderson 1971; Kirkland Jr. and Kirkland 1983), and indirect transmission may occur through consumption of gastropod-consuming vertebrates that serve as paratenic hosts such as chipmunks (Neotamias townsendii) , shrew moles ( Neurotrichus gibsii), shrews ( Sorex trowbridgii ), voles (Myodes spp.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages in forest of the Pacific Northwest

Tosa

Lesmeister

Terborgh

2022

Preprint

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There are increasing concerns about the decreasing population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. With limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history, small mammal conservation and management remains difficult. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017 – 2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods, vertebrates such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds, and plants such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items such as black-tailed deer that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June - August) and marginally more mammals during the wet season (September – May). We observed similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging. Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems by facilitating energy and nutrient transfer, and serve important functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Through prey-switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps during dry springs and summers, which could then provide ecosystem resilience to environmental change.Open Research StatementData are provided as private-for-peer review (shared publicly on a repository). Material is stored at https://github.com/tinytosa/WSpottedSkunkDiet.git and will be published on Dryad if the paper is accepted for publication.

show abstract

Prevalence and Severity of Skunk Cranial Worm (Skrjabingylus Chitwoodorum) Damage Increase With Precipitation in Spotted Skunks (Spilogale Spp.)

Cited by 6 publications

References 25 publications

Genetic variation within a species of parasitic nematode, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in skunks

Genetic variation within a species of parasitic nematode, Skrjabingylus chitwoodorum, in skunks

Multi‐locus DNA metabarcoding reveals seasonality of foraging ecology of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest

Western spotted skunks provide important food web linkages in forest of the Pacific Northwest

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